An elderly woman casts her ballot at the Bole polling station, in the Bole Bamboi constituency of northern Ghana, on December 7, 2012. Ghana voted in a high-stakes presidential election today which is expected to be close, with the emerging country seeking to live up to its promise as a beacon of democracy in turbulent West Africa.

Mahama was elected to office in December 2012 with 50.7 percent of the vote, wrote the BBC, allowing him to avoid a run-off with Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party.

Ghana's opposition New Patriotic Party feels that the election was unfair, and launched a legal challenge to Mahama's position on December 28th, claiming polling irregularities and rejecting the results, wrote the BBC.